Surreal Places To Live In Photographs By Barbara Nati

Tabish KhanSurreal Places To Live In Photographs By Barbara NatiBarbara Nati, Tractor. Image courtesy and copyright of the artistBarbara Nati, Salice. Image courtesy and copyright of the artistBarbara Nati, Nave. Image courtesy and copyright of the artistBarbara Nati, Cipresso. Image courtesy and copyright of the artistBarbara Nati, Zeppelin. Image courtesy and copyright of the artistBarbara Nati, Svezia. Image courtesy and copyright of the artist

Art in coffee shops is an increasing trend. One such café is The Brockley Mess. It even has a dedicated space for artworks, known as the CueB Gallery, at the back of the establishment.

Its latest exhibition features a visually arresting digital collage of Barbara Nati. It's common to imagine living somewhere fantastical, but Nati has gone ahead and actually created realms that couldn't possibly exist in today's world, though we would love to see them brought to life.

Her nightmarish watchtowers feature semi-dilapidated houses sat atop a tree, deliberately leaving it ambiguous as to whether the houses are growing out of the tree or vice versa. It doesn't paint a pretty picture of humanity and nature co-existing.

Our favourites are the black and white epic-scale works , such as a house converted into a gigantic tractor, and the city on top of a zeppelin. The airship floats over a modern, brightly lit city while the architecture atop the zeppelin feels classically Italian, a nod to Nati's life as she is living in London but was born it Italy.

We've seen Nati's work in a previous group show but it's great to see her wider portfolio on display with the opportunity to appreciate it while sipping on a cappuccino.